Red Dawn
Metascore
31 out of 100

Generally unfavorable reviews - based on 33 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1 out of 33
  2. Mixed: 14 out of 33
  3. Negative: 18 out of 33
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  1. Arizona Republic
    Reviewed by: Bill Goodykoontz
    Nov 20, 2012
    30
    Could be fun, you might think. No. Bad acting and worse dialogue quickly put an end to that notion.
  2. Austin Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Marjorie Baumgarten
    Nov 21, 2012
    30
    Although the original Red Dawn was far-fetched, the remake offers little but vicarious thrills.
  3. Boxoffice Magazine
    Reviewed by: David Ehrlich
    Nov 21, 2012
    10
    And so, nearly four years since it rolled cameras, the sun rises on another Red Dawn, which supplements the irresponsibility of the original with an incompetency all its own.
  4. Chicago Sun-Times
    Reviewed by: Roger Ebert
    Nov 20, 2012
    38
    A closing scene, rousingly patriotic, takes place back on the football field. I think I'm beginning to understand why the Chinese were not reckoned to be a prime market for this film.
  5. Empire
    Reviewed by: Nick de Semlyen
    Mar 11, 2013
    20
    Long-delayed. Arguably not long enough.
  6. New York Daily News
    Reviewed by: Elizabeth Weitzman
    Nov 21, 2012
    20
    In this group, only Hemsworth stands out.
  7. New York Magazine (Vulture)
    Reviewed by: Bilge Ebiri
    Nov 21, 2012
    10
    Love it or hate it, Milius's original Red Dawn looks like an Akira Kurosawa masterpiece next to this latest iteration, directed by Dan Bradley.
  8. New York Post
    Reviewed by: Kyle Smith
    Nov 21, 2012
    38
    The dull, predictable direction is the perfect match for a watery, nondescript cast.
  9. NPR
    Reviewed by: Mark Jenkins
    Nov 23, 2012
    30
    The new Red Dawn's body count is as high as its predecessor's. But the fatalism in all of Milius' projects - even the silliest ones - has weight. That's not the case with the remake, whose portrayal of violence derives more from video games than from history.
  10. Philadelphia Inquirer
    Reviewed by: Steven Rea
    Nov 21, 2012
    38
    Hobbled by a laughably bad script and a uniformly uncharismatic cast.
  11. Portland Oregonian
    Reviewed by: Stephen Whitty
    Nov 23, 2012
    25
    The movie never pauses -- at least, not to waste time on anything like developing the female characters. But there's no edge to anything, either dramatically or politically.
  12. San Francisco Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Mick LaSalle
    Nov 20, 2012
    25
    Unfortunately, the characters are so programmatic, the premise so ridiculous and the situations so far-fetched even if you accept that premise that no energy can be built, and the little that's there can't be sustained. Red Dawn is a vigorous but pointless exercise.
  13. Slant Magazine
    Reviewed by: Elise Naknikian
    Nov 16, 2012
    12
    It feeds the warrior fantasies of adolescent boys with a testosterone-heavy tale of a war free of moral complications.
  14. St. Louis Post-Dispatch
    Reviewed by: Joe Williams
    Nov 20, 2012
    38
    This world is divided between the makers and the takers, and after just a few minutes of Red Dawn, you'll realize there's not much more you can take.
  15. The A.V. Club
    Reviewed by: Scott Tobias
    Nov 21, 2012
    33
    Red Dawn without the jingoism is like a pie without the filling - it collapses into splintered mush.
  16. The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
    Reviewed by: Liam Lacey
    Nov 21, 2012
    38
    The filmmakers have altered the premise from the unlikely to the ridiculous.
  17. The Guardian
    Reviewed by: Peter Bradshaw
    Mar 15, 2013
    20
    This has to be the year's most pointless remake: a boring and badly acted reboot of John Milius's gung-ho red-scare actioner from 1984.
  18. Time
    Reviewed by: Mary Pols
    Nov 21, 2012
    30
    If it weren't for him (Hemsworth), surely the Red Dawn remake would have gone straight to video; he's the only person worth watching in it (oh the pain of watching the wan Isabel Lucas hoist a rocket launcher).

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
4.5 out of 10

Mixed or average reviews- based on 103 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 17 out of 43
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 43
  3. Negative: 19 out of 43
  1. Kadeemluvmusic
    3
    I love the original Patrick Swayze version of Red Dawn, it was one of the best 80's movies that we certainly don't have time for a reboot. The new version starring a Hunger Games star and an Avengers star is pretty much says it. After a long period of delays since MGM (the movie's former company) headed for turbulance. And even bankruptcy, they should've released it when Sony acquired the rights to the troubled studio. Red Dawn is nearly half as bad as the floppy reboot Total Recall, so I thought it was gonna be called "Crap Dawn" or "Turkey Dawn." Jennifer Grey (the original Dirty Dancer) could send a message to the late Patrick Swayze that the director who is responsible for the remake is making a fool out of himself making a stupid idea to remake Red Dawn. I already got the movie on VHS, sadly I retired the tape and wait for the Blu-Ray release. Reboots are nothing more than con artists and so does the Red Dawn reboot. A terrible, indulgent, and as Joe Biden said in the Democratic debate that I've never heard that "Malarkey" word, but it's incredible.… Full Review »
  2. ShutUpJustDie
    2
    "Oh how the mighty have fallen." That is a phrase that you will repeat quite a bit if you've watched the original Red Dawn and maybe even played the video game Homefront before watching this. The movie is a gigantic rush job, which is a shame, as I'm pretty sure the original writer seems to have made the trio of American invasion movies/game, as the style is distinctly that of the original. The only problem? The execution. While the style it is done in has little differences, the script is a mess, spending no time developing female characters and constantly juggling ridiculous dialogue with a horrid plot, Much like Homefront, the original villain seemed to have been the Chinese. However, it seems to have been changed at the last second to avoid controversy. The writing is also a mess, and the action is like that of having a string puppet show involving a cowboy and a waving inflatable-arm tubeman duking it out. Do not watch this mess of a movie, and avoid it at all costs.… Full Review »
  3. sran777
    7
    I still have a difficult time believing that people listen to critics. I have an even harder time believing they get paid for what they do. This was a good action movie. It's as if they were expecting a thriller. I was also looking through user reviews and had to laugh at the illiteracy of most of the negative scorers. Are children rating? I can't trust an individual's opinion if he/she seems incompetent. Anyways, dairy for the tangent. Good action movie. If you haven't seen it, just remember......ACTION MOVIE. NOT PHILOSOPHICAL.… Full Review »
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